Washing soda is primarily sodium carbonate, whereas baking soda is sodium bicarbonate. For this, we use Arm & Hammer Super Washing Soda™ (not baking soda), available in the laundry additives section (medium size yellow box), at the rate of 1-2 tablespoons per gallon of water. You'll also need turn the water in the tank into what's called an electrolyte, making it more conductive so the current will flow more readily through it. You'll need a piece of metal, either iron or steel, that will serve as a "sacrificial anode" to which the electrical current will flow from the piece being cleaned. The most common set up for an electrolysis iron cleaning tank involves a plastic storage container or the like, sturdy enough to be capable of holding eight or more gallons of water, and a car battery charger. By connecting the positive and negative wires the opposite of the plating process, you get crud and rust removal. The process, under conditions of high voltage and temperature, is the basis for electroplating such as that of decorative chrome on automobile parts.įor our purposes, electrolysis cleaning works somewhat like chrome plating in reverse. But an electrolytic cell can also affect the electrodes to which the voltage source is attached, either by adding material, removing material, or both. Some may remember high school science class experiments in which electrolysis was demonstrated to break down water into its molecular components of hydrogen and oxygen. The term electrolysis comes from two Greek words, and essentially means "to break down using electricity". While a bit more work and expense than other methods to set up, a properly designed and implemented electrolysis tank can remove both rust and build-up in relatively short order. Among the variety of restoration tools available to the dedicated vintage cast iron cookware collector, perhaps the most useful of all is cleaning by electrolysis.
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